Joseph’s monster game shows value of playing time

Having T.J. Ford as his personal coach apparently agrees with Cory Joseph.

The Spurs No. 1 draft pick erupted for a monster game Friday night to lead the Austin Toros to a 112-82 victory over Maine in NBA Developmental League action.

Joseph posted a triple-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in 33 minutes. It came shortly after Ford joined the Toros as a volunteer coach after his NBA retirement.

And it also came after Justin Dentmon learned he would be arriving with the Spurs on a 10-day contract rather than Joseph.

Whether that had anything to do with his Joseph’s big game is debatable. But it certainly didn’t hurt — as does learning some of the tricks of the game from a veteran like Ford.

Since being sent down to Austin earlier this week, Joseph is averaging 20 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9 assists. Those games are sending the Spurs a message his career can be salvagable with some hard work in the D-League.